{"id":622436,"date":"2026-02-28T14:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T14:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/622436\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T14:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T14:20:24","slug":"unf-hosts-fhsaa-basketball-championships-bring-final-four-action-back-to-jacksonville-for-first-time-in-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/622436\/","title":{"rendered":"UNF hosts FHSAA basketball championships, bring final four action back to Jacksonville for first time in 50 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 The road to a state championship now runs through Jacksonville. <\/p>\n

For the first time in 50 years, the Florida High School Athletic Association basketball state championships are being hosted in the city – and the University of North Florida is at the center of it all.<\/p>\n

The hardwood at UNF is home to 74 games over the next 19 days, tipping off nearly two and a half weeks of championship basketball. It\u2019s the first time Jacksonville has hosted the basketball state finals since 1976. <\/p>\n

And for teams like Hilliard, it almost feels like home court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen to be this close to home, on their home turf, you might as well say because it\u2019s so close to home where all of their fans are able to come,\u201d Hilliard head coach Daneisha Alderman said. \u201cIt\u2019s just an amazing feeling, and I know it\u2019s going to make them even hungrier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilliard is back in the Final Four, and with the short trip to UNF, their fan base can pack the stands. <\/p>\n

For assistant coach Brianti Saunders, the stage brings back memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brought back all of the feels,\u201d Saunders said. \u201cI remember going into the same locker room. Getting that same feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saunders played at Stetson and once competed against UNF on this very court. Now she\u2019s watching her 13-year-old sister suit up for Hilliard in the same atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo happy for her,\u201d Saunders said. \u201dIt was electrifying for me and even more exciting for me as her big sister to see her play in this same atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the championships didn\u2019t land there overnight. <\/p>\n

Ervin Lewis, UNF\u2019s Deputy Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations, spearheaded the effort – a three-year process built on relationships and vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our relationships with the Florida High School Athletic Association, while they were here on campus at other championships, I just asked, \u2018hey, by the way, come take a look at what we\u2019re doing across campus at other venues,\u2019\u201d Lewis said. \u201cJust sitting and conversating with them, they saw our vision as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis knows firsthand what this moment means. <\/p>\n

As a sophomore at Jefferson County High School in 1990, he competed in a state championship game in Lakeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I was a sophomore in high school and we competed against Riviera Beach. We lost by like three points, but it was an amazing experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, he wants Jacksonville to become synonymous with championship moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would like to do is just make Jacksonville and the University of North Florida the hub of all state championships,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt\u2019s not only for UNF, but it\u2019s for the Jacksonville community. As we continue to elevate what we do here as far as running championships. The city around us continues to support us and so we\u2019re growing and they\u2019re growing as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

UNF already hosts track state meets and has hosted the volleyball state championship. Next month, the ASUN basketball tournament will tip off there as well.<\/p>\n

For now, the spotlight is on high school hoops and for the next 19 days, the state\u2019s best will chase a title right here in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The road to a state championship now runs through Jacksonville. For the first time in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":622437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,266315,266316,3188,723,46022,7310,62,46512,67,586,132,5230,14645,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-622436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fhsaa","10":"tag-fhsaa-basketball","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-high-school-basketball","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-unf","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-university-of-north-florida","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116148701019690540","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}